Youngsters addicted to drugs, alcohol or smoking are more likely to commit violent crimes like murder and rape, medical study finds

Youngsters addicted to tobacco, drugs and alcohol are more likely to commit violent crimes such as rape and murder, a medical study has found.

The claim underscores a major concern in a country with perhaps the highest number of street children in the world.

The report submitted to the ministries of health as well as social justice and empowerment found that the greater the degree of substance abuse, the greater the tendency to violence and criminality.

The review examined over 500 inmates at the Prayas observation home for boys. (Picture for representation only.)

Doctors have noted a growing trend of juveniles committing serious crimes such as rape, murder, attempt to murder, and burglary.

As there was no reliable data associating substance use and criminality among children in Delhi, the experts decided to do a research study.

The review was conducted by the city’s Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS), the department of psychiatry at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, and Pushpawati Singhania Research Institute. It looked at over 500 inmates at the Prayas observation home for boys.

“Out of the total juveniles under-enquiry booked under different crimes, over 87 per cent had a history of substance use,” said Shridhar Sharma, member, managing committee of Prayas.

“Consumption of tobacco and cannabis were higher when compared to other drugs. Consumption of psychotropic drugs, though relatively lesser, was related with more serious crimes.”

Sharma, also a former top official in the union health ministry, said a drug-crime correlation was noted that linked consumption of cannabis with murder, inhalants with rape, and opioids with snatching-related offences.

The study found that cannabis use featured among many youngsters found guilty of murder. (Picture for representation only.)

Use of solvents or inhalants such as typewriter thinners and whiteners was reported to be high among the juveniles convicted of rape when compared to other crimes.

Similarly, cannabis intake was rampant among those found guilty of murder.

Also, consumption of opioids and heroin was higher in convicts for mugging and snatching-related crimes.

According to UNICEF estimates, at least 100 million children live on the streets across the world, with indications that the largest number of them are in India.

These children can be seen selling trinkets, picking rags, polishing shoes, working in vehicle repair shops, or serving food in roadside restaurants.

The national Capital alone has approximately one lakh street children, and substance abuse is reported as a major health problem in this segment of the population.